A Royal Kiss

A Royal Kiss ♡ Chapter Three

i know a story is mostly about imagining the characters yourself, but i couldn't help it. so, on the top is a gif of daria sidorchuk as elondri lunar.

you should check out the other chapters to see charlie and queen gwendolyn and more :)

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Rain gently tapped on Elondri's forearm. The heavy raindrops gave in to gravity and let themselves fall on the hard ground. Elondri thought for a moment  she could hear them land, that she could hear how they broke their legs because they were too curious. But it appeared to be the quick beating of her heart.

Everyone held their breath as the screen, like each Saturday, changed from pitch black to bright white and showed Bariel Clarence, but this time a little earlier for a special announcement. Bariel was wearing a black suit, combined with a red tie with yellow dots. His gleaming white teeth looked like deathly weapons as he smiled and made his grey hair look even greyer. Elondri knew he had to be around middle age because Bariel had been there since the first selection.

He moved towards the twenty ladies, each held a transparent bowl before them. Every bowl had been numbered from 1 to 20 for the cities in Illéa, the numbers ornately printed on the front and were surrounded by curls that moved upward. They disappeared underneath the hands of the young-looking girls, who all wore a white coat and white pants. As if they wanted to stand out as little as possible with the same clothes and their hair pulled together in a sturdy knot.

Bariel smiled before he started. "Dear beloved people of Illéa, today is a special day I may say. Not only for the prince and his family, but also for the twenty lucky ladies that will be named very soon. In a moment, the prince will pick a name out of every box. He has not seen the names before, he will be hearing and reading them for the first time right on this very spot."

He started walking towards the bowls and stared at it until Elondri knew for sure he could already read the names. Her hands were shaking a little and she didn't seem to be able to stand calm. Why was she so nervous anyway? The chance her name got picked out of hundreds was small anyway.

While Bariel explained one more time what the Selection was and what the next months looked like, Elondri looked around. Everyone seemed very interested in the moving figures on the screen. Brainwashed by the voices and the people. Mesmerized by the Queen's beautiful red dress and her smile that blew everyone away.

Then she turned her head back. Back to the screen where the prince entered the stage. A sweet face, smiling and almost able to conceal his nervosity. Almost. The rapid beating of an artery in his neck, the fiddling with the bottom button of his shirt.

"How are you feeling today, Prince?" asked Bariel.

Prince Lucas inhaled. "As weird as it might sound, it doesn't actually feel like this day is going to change my life forever", he answered cheerful. His short dark brown hair was put into a perfect model with gel and two sweet blue eyes wished it was all over soon.

Bariel's eyebrows shot up. "You do know that one of the named ladies will become your wife in less than a couple of months? Don't you think it is annoying to be forced to fall in love in such a short amount of time?"

The prince seemed equally taken aback, but quickly resumed himself again. "Forced? No, I think I have to be happy to get the opportunity to meet so many different ladies. I'm often busy and don't think much about my own future. It's always the present that's important for the future of Illéa."